This paper explores the categories of space in Croatia through the concepts of place and non-place in the personal experiences and attitudes of individuals. The theoretical framework of the paper consists of macro approaches to contemporary space from the work of Auge, Relph and Ritzer. In the empirical part, a qualitative methodology was used, more precisely a focus group method conducted during May 2020 in Karlovac. Volunteer participants were selected in accordance with the snowball technique according to the criteria of many years of bowling experience and were informed in a timely manner about all ethical standards of research with guaranteed anonymity. Testimonies of participants confirmed the orientation thesis that the bowling alley corresponds to the category of places with characteristics of social cohesion and personal connection with space through the affirmation of components of personal significance of the bowling alley for bowlers, numerous memories and activities characteristic of the bowling alley. It was also confirmed that to the participants McDonald’s space corresponds to the theoretical concept of non-place given the assigned attributes of impersonal, generic and highly functional space. Therefore, this thesis empirically confirms the theoretical concepts of (non) places from the perspective of the visitors themselves, opening space for future research, especially of the representative type. One of the potential directions of future works is the phenomenon of virtualization of space in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic and further elaboration of the category of "semi-place" as a way to overcome place-nonplace dichotomies in modern society and branch of urban sociology. Keywords: